Alaska could collect between $1 billion and $2.7 billion per year from a pipeline project to move North Slope gas to the Lower 48, according to terms of a draft contract between Alaska and a trio of major producers, the state said.

Released to the public Wednesday by Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, the contract spells out terms that would put Alaska in the natural gas business, making it part owner of the massive pipeline and a marketer of its own gas, which it would receive from the producers as royalty-in-kind. On Wednesday Murkowski told Alaska lawmakers that the state needs to step up, take some ownership in the pipeline project and share the risk with producers if it wants the project to move forward. Otherwise, he warned, there is a risk that the federal government could step in to build the pipeline and squeeze the state out.

“I don’t think any of us, including the Bush administration, wants to see federal ownership of the pipeline,” Murkowski said. “However, this is a possibility that we may all need to contend with if a contract is not consummated soon…”

Delivering Alaska’s gas to the Lower 48 has been a decades-long dream. Despite high gas prices, it’s still not an economically feasible dream if Alaska doesn’t participate in the project, according to Murkowski, ConocoPhillips, BP plc and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Among the provisions of the contract:

The contract is available at https://www.revenue.state.ak.us/gasline/ContractDocuments/

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